State and federal civil rights laws provides protection from discrimination that is based on factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability. But a gap in state statute gave students in public schools who are victims of these kinds of discrimination nowhere to turn within the school system itself.
This week, Governor Gregoire signed legislation to correct this omission by approving House Bill 3026, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D – Seattle). The measure specifically prohibits discrimination in public schools and grants the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction the authority necessary to enforce compliance with state civil rights laws. Under current state law, OSPI may enforce compliance only in situations involving gender discrimination.
“This bill does not grant new protections, but puts some real authority behind protections that are already in place,” Santos said. “Without a way to enforce existing anti-discrimination laws, the laws themselves have no meaning.”
The legislation codifies a recommendation of the Washington State Academic Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability committee. The committee, created in 2009 by the Legislature, works to eliminate the differences in academic achievement between students of color and their non-Hispanic white peers.
In testimony before the state House Education Committee earlier this year, Rep. Santos recalled the late Patsy Mink, a U.S. Congresswoman (D-HI) and the author of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination at federally-funded institutions. She was also the first woman of color elected to Congress. As a young woman, Mink was denied admission to every medical school to which she applied in the late 1940s. Later, as a Member of Congress, she helped champion legislation to ensure that no other female would experience the barriers she encountered in pursuing her education.
“Ironically, if Patsy Mink was a student in our state’s public school system today and experienced gender discrimination, she would have all the power and authority of OSPI defending her,” Santos said. “But, if she experienced discrimination as a student of color, OSPI could not help to enforce civil rights laws on her behalf. Now they can.”
The measure had the support of the Academic Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability committee, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as many groups that advocate on behalf of students of color, GLBT students, and students with disabilities.